WWE Supershow Report: 7/24, Pittsburgh PA

[MiLB Fan]

I thought FAN might be interested in this. So far we’ve seen a few TV shows and a PPV since WWE has returned to touring, but what about a show that isn’t on TV? It’s somewhat fitting that Pittsburgh was among the first cities on WWE’s comeback tour, since it was also an early victim of the pandemic cancellations. (I still have my ticket for the 3/16 Raw!)

Here was how I saw the action, from the First National Bank Club. The doors had just opened when I took this picture, so the lower bowl did fill up by the time the show started.




Check out the new entrance set for house shows! It’s basically a scaled-down model of what we see on TV; this is the first time in a very long while that I’ve seen a set without an elevated stage and ramp. It allowed the wrestlers to interact more with the fans.




They had a small camera crew there to film the wrestlers’ entrances, as well as the victors as they left the ring. They showed these on the Jumbotron, as you can see here:




Quick match results:

1. Women’s tag team champions Natalya &
Tamina beat Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler.

2. Drew McIntyre beat United States champion Sheamus in a non-title match.

3. Smackdown women’s champion Bianca Belair beat Carmella.

4. WWE champion Bobby Lashley beat Kofi Kingston. This was originally advertised as a handicap match: Lashley vs. New Day. They showed footage of Xavier Woods laid out backstage.

*INTERMISSION*

5. Riddle pinned AJ Styles.

6. Raw women’s champion Nikki A.S.H. beat Rhea Ripley and Charlotte Flair in a triple-threat match.

7. John Cena and the Mysterios beat Roman Reigns and the Usos.

[warden]

Did the people there enjoy nikki?

[MiLB Fan]

Jul 24, 2021 22:59:55 GMT -5 warden said:

Did the people there enjoy nikki?

The kids seemed to, but I heard a smattering of boos during her introduction. Rhea was the clear favorite; I heard fans chanting her name and “Let’s Go Rhea!” during the match.

[Deleted]

One thing I enjoyed about house show reports is that you could see where angles would lead and whatnot. So far, the only thing I'm seeing is a potential Nikki/Charlotte/Rhea match but either way it was fun to read this. Good job on the reporting.

[Deleted]

While it's disappointing to read that Nikki received some boos, it's a really encouraging sign that Rhea was over again.

[mistery]

For those curious on if last night's stuff was any different, it wasn't all that much, even results wise.

The only difference was some of the crowd reactions. Rhea got a small reaction, Nikki still got boos, and Charlotte was the most over woman in the match since she had the most "credibility". Otherwise all of the results were the same, and the crowd reactions were the same.

[theironyuppie]

Jul 26, 2021 7:41:10 GMT -5 mistery said:

For those curious on if last night's stuff was any different, it wasn't all that much, even results wise.

The only difference was some of the crowd reactions. Rhea got a small reaction, Nikki still got boos, and Charlotte was the most over woman in the match since she had the most "credibility". Otherwise all of the results were the same, and the crowd reactions were the same.

Some of the descriptions I saw mentioned that Rhea didn't get much of a reaction to her entrance but that fans got into her during the match herself.

[Deleted]

I went to the one in Louisville last night. It was the exact same card and, frankly, was not an especially great show. Pretty formulaic stuff. Riddle/AJ was the standout match.

Nikki A.S.H., at least in my section, was EXTREMELY not over. Like to a point of apathy turning to boos. That kind of disappointed me, because I think the character reinvention is really cool on paper. Also of note - Lashley got a borderline Conway pop on his actual entrance, though he got more of a reaction as the match went on. I think the whole idea of having the faces be the ones who get beaten down to even the odds in a handicap match really muddled that whole portion of the show.

Just really reaffirmed that WWE is no longer my cup of tea, personally.

[Deleted]

Jul 26, 2021 8:48:18 GMT -5 theironyuppie said:

Jul 26, 2021 7:41:10 GMT -5 mistery said:

For those curious on if last night's stuff was any different, it wasn't all that much, even results wise.

The only difference was some of the crowd reactions. Rhea got a small reaction, Nikki still got boos, and Charlotte was the most over woman in the match since she had the most "credibility". Otherwise all of the results were the same, and the crowd reactions were the same.

Some of the descriptions I saw mentioned that Rhea didn't get much of a reaction to her entrance but that fans got into her during the match herself.

Rhea definitely had the majority of the crowd support in the match itself. Nikki was demonstrably less over than the other two.

[Pooh Carlson]

House show crowds and TV crowds a lot of time give different reactions. Even in the height of "Cena sucks" chants on TV, Chicago and the surrounding area would be almost 100% behind him at house shows.

[Wieners=$$$]

No Rykermania?

Did their audio guy forget the "Cheers" cart?

[mistery]

Dave mentioned in the newsletter that the Nikki ASH gimmick is absolutely bombing hard.

I have to imagine if she continues to get a cold reception, WWE is going to cut her title reign short.

[EoE: Well There's Your Problem]

In the space of four shows, this superhero gimmick has gone as such:

*Not over, but won them over during the match and got a decent reaction for winning (Money In The Bank)
*Big reaction for cashing in MITB, albeit that could happen for anyone cashing in (RAW)
*Not over, to the point of being booed (house shows)

That’s a lot of variety in reactions over the space of a week, and I don’t think WWE should be expected to make any dramatic calls this early in their return to live crowds. Maybe give it another week or two, or even to SummerSlam depending on what the current plans are. Otherwise you’re just cutting off another act at the knees.

[Deleted]

Jul 26, 2021 10:54:59 GMT -5 EoE: Well There's Your Problem said:

In the space of four shows, this superhero gimmick has gone as such:

*Not over, but won them over during the match and got a decent reaction for winning (Money In The Bank)
*Big reaction for cashing in MITB, albeit that could happen for anyone cashing in (RAW)
*Not over, to the point of being booed (house shows)

That’s a lot of variety in reactions over the space of a week, and I don’t think WWE should be expected to make any dramatic calls this early in their return to live crowds. Maybe give it another week or two, or even to SummerSlam depending on what the current plans are. Otherwise you’re just cutting off another act at the knees.

I think they just need to be really careful with how they book her moving forward. Her reaction at the show last night became increasingly negative because she was booked as clearly inferior, physically, to her two opponents, and trying to pick spots to steal the win. Which, I think, can work with an underdog face character like that, but it was towing a line into weaselly heel territory last night, in my opinion. Especially considering such a huge portion of the crowd still loves Charlotte and Rhea. She won the match last night by basically stealing a double pin while Charlotte and Rhea were fighting each other and it didn't seem to really go over well with the crowd in the section that I was sitting in.

Even the kids in my section seemed to strongly prefer Charlotte.

[EoE: Well There's Your Problem]

It always surprises me when I hear about how over Flair is. You’d think she’d be one of the most hated people or least over people on the whole show based on how people talk about her here, but she only seems to ever get those kinds of visceral heel “message board” reactions from live crowds if she’s paired off against someone crazy over like Lynch.

[Finish Uncle Muffin’s Story]

Jul 26, 2021 11:37:05 GMT -5 EoE: Well There's Your Problem said:

It always surprises me when I hear about how over Flair is. You’d think she’d be one of the most hated people or least over people on the whole show based on how people talk about her here, but she only seems to ever get those kinds of visceral heel “message board” reactions from live crowds if she’s paired off against someone crazy over like Lynch.

I genuinely think "vocal minority" is true when it comes to her. She's got a pretty huge fanbase and seems to have the respect of most folks. I will be curious to see how the crowds in places like New York and Chicago respond to her, though.

[adamclark52]

The superhero character was not written to have legs and her title win served one purpose: to give Flair another notch.


House show crowds can be drizzling shit though. Last one I went to popped for entrances, big moves and finishes and fell asleep during the matches. It used to be the house shows were better crowds but man, not anymore.

[Deleted]

Jul 26, 2021 11:43:58 GMT -5 adamclark52 said:

The superhero character was not written to have legs and her title win served one purpose: to give Flair another notch.


House show crowds can be drizzling shit though. Last one I went to popped for entrances, big moves and finishes and fell asleep during the matches. It used to be the house shows were better crowds but man, not anymore.

Just speaking from personal experience, that's on the company and not the crowds in my opinion. I remember going to a couple of house shows in around 2007-2009 or so. The shows had self-contained storylines going on throughout the night. As a particularly memorable example, I went to one that had a story thread of Drew McIntyre wanting to prove that he's the next big thing going throughout the night and leading to an entirely unexpected Drew McIntyre/Ricky Steamboat match. I went to another where William Regal (who wasn't even wrestling on TV at the time) answered an open challenge for the US Title that Santino had issued earlier in the night. You know, nothing major, but made the shows feel like something consequential was actually going on.

The one last night was literally just clips from RAW and Smackdown, followed by matches, with very little in the way of promos (except for Sheamus cutting a very brief YOU DONT DESERVE TO SEE ME DEFEND MY TITLE and Lashley doing a near-identical YOU DONT DESERVE TO SEE THE NEW DAY). It just all felt very formulaic to me. House shows used to be a ton of fun because they'd go off the beaten path a little bit, and guys would get to cut loose a little more on the mic than they can on TV. This one just didn't feel like that. It felt like an untelevised episode of RAW/SD to me.

What I will say, though, is the kids around me seemed to be having an absolute blast and the crowd was smallish, but full. So, overall, it was a very successful show, I think. Just not really up my alley anymore as a 33-year-old fan.

[adamclark52]

Jul 26, 2021 12:43:39 GMT -5 @mattyphatty said:

Jul 26, 2021 11:43:58 GMT -5 adamclark52 said:

The superhero character was not written to have legs and her title win served one purpose: to give Flair another notch.


House show crowds can be drizzling shit though. Last one I went to popped for entrances, big moves and finishes and fell asleep during the matches. It used to be the house shows were better crowds but man, not anymore.

Just speaking from personal experience, that's on the company and not the crowds in my opinion. I remember going to a couple of house shows in around 2007-2009 or so. The shows had self-contained storylines going on throughout the night. As a particularly memorable example, I went to one that had a story thread of Drew McIntyre wanting to prove that he's the next big thing going throughout the night and leading to an entirely unexpected Drew McIntyre/Ricky Steamboat match. I went to another where William Regal (who wasn't even wrestling on TV at the time) answered an open challenge for the US Title that Santino had issued earlier in the night. You know, nothing major, but made the shows feel like something consequential was actually going on.

The one last night was literally just clips from RAW and Smackdown, followed by matches, with very little in the way of promos (except for Sheamus cutting a very brief YOU DONT DESERVE TO SEE ME DEFEND MY TITLE and Lashley doing a near-identical YOU DONT DESERVE TO SEE THE NEW DAY). It just all felt very formulaic to me. House shows used to be a ton of fun because they'd go off the beaten path a little bit, and guys would get to cut loose a little more on the mic than they can on TV. This one just didn't feel like that. It felt like an untelevised episode of RAW/SD to me.

What I will say, though, is the kids around me seemed to be having an absolute blast and the crowd was smallish, but full. So, overall, it was a very successful show, I think. Just not really up my alley anymore as a 33-year-old fan.

Yeah it is on the company. House shows used to be so much fun. I remember one where Ric Flair became the unofficial third member or DX. Like you said now they’re just…garbage. So I guess you can’t entirely blame the crowds. But the last WWF crowd I was a part of hadn’t been stuck indoors for 18 months. That probably plays into it.

[ppl591]

Jul 26, 2021 10:15:53 GMT -5 @mattyphatty said:

I went to the one in Louisville last night. It was the exact same card and, frankly, was not an especially great show. Pretty formulaic stuff. Riddle/AJ was the standout match.

Nikki A.S.H., at least in my section, was EXTREMELY not over. Like to a point of apathy turning to boos. That kind of disappointed me, because I think the character reinvention is really cool on paper. Also of note - Lashley got a borderline Conway pop on his actual entrance, though he got more of a reaction as the match went on. I think the whole idea of having the faces be the ones who get beaten down to even the odds in a handicap match really muddled that whole portion of the show.

Just really reaffirmed that WWE is no longer my cup of tea, personally.

Highlighting the Lashley part. I know he's good in his role but I don't think he's over really at. I find him and his presentation are pretty mediocre even thought he's great in the role